Get ready to rumble! #BernieTrumpDebate

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are doing things nobody thought could be done. Now, the unconventional candidates are proposing a cross-party debate before the nomination process ends.

After Hillary Clinton decided to welch on her commitment to appear with her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders secured a promise from the presumptive Republican contender to square off instead.

I am delighted that @realDonaldTrump has agreed to debate,” said Bernie Sanders, in a subsequent Twitter post. “Let’s do it in the biggest stadium possible.”

Trump confirmed that he agreed to debate Sanders before the June 7 California.

“I’d love to debate Bernie,” Trump said at a press conference in North Dakota Thursday afternoon. “But I want a lot of money put up for charities. So what we’ll do is if we can raise for maybe women’s health issues or something, if we can raise $10 or $15 million for charity, which would be a very appropriate amount — I understand the television business very well. I think it would get very high ratings. It should be in a big arena somewhere. And we could have a lot of fun with it.”
“A number of months ago, our campaign and her campaign reached an agreement on a number of debates, including one here in California,” Sanders said at a Monday rally in Santa Monica, Calif. “I gotta tell you this: I think it is a little bit insulting to the people of California — our largest state — that she is not prepared to have a discussion with me about how we address the major crises we face.”

The agreement comes after Sanders said Clinton’s refusal to debate in California is an insult to residents of the Golden State.

“A number of months ago, our campaign and her campaign reached an agreement on a number of debates, including one here in California,” Sanders said at a Santa Monica rally. “I gotta tell you this: I think it is a little bit insulting to the people of California — our largest state — that she is not prepared to have a discussion with me about how we address the major crises we face.”

“I’d love to debate Bernie,” Trump said at a press conference in North Dakota Thursday afternoon. “But I want a lot of money put up for charities. So what we’ll do is if we can raise for maybe women’s health issues or something, if we can raise $10 or $15 million for charity, which would be a very appropriate amount — I understand the television business very well. I think it would get very high ratings. It should be in a big arena somewhere. And we could have a lot of fun with it.”

In an interview with the website Revolt.com, Sanders said the purpose of the debate would be to take the Republican nominee “to task for his outrageously bigoted remarks against African-Americans, against women, against Mexicans, against Native Americans. The strength of our country is our diversity, our coming together.”

Sanders trails Clinton in delegates, but recent national polls show that Sanders, who has won primaries and caucuses in 20 states, fares better than Clinton against Trump.

According to a new NBC/WSJ poll released this week, Clinton’s lead over Trump has fallen from 11 points last month to just 3 (46 percent to 43 percent) — a figure that falls within the poll’s margin of error. The same poll found that Sanders is well ahead of Trump, by 15 points (54 percent to 39 percent), in their theoretical general election matchup.

Nine more states — including New Jersey and California — will award convention delegates on Tuesday, June 7.